X-Men, Meet the Starr Brothers Prelude: Toad's Lament
by L1701E
Summary: One-Shot. Set before "X-Men, Meet the Starr Brothers!" Starchild and Toad have a conversation.


**X-Men: Meet the Starr Brothers, Prelude: Toad's Lament**

 **Disclaimer: All characters belong to their owners.**

 _ **The Pit**_

A teenage boy hummed happily as he placed his paintbrush on the canvas and let his imagination flow onto it. His jet black hair fell widely around his shoulders and face, nearly hiding his chocolate brown eyes and purple five-pointed purple star-shaped birthmark around his eye.

 _ **Starchild. Real Name: Paul Stanley Starr. Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA. Affiliation: Misfits. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Can fire a purple laser from star-covered eye. Eye can also produce flashes of light that can temporarily blind or hypnotize people. Telepathic link with twin brother Craig.**_

"There we go." Paul smiled happily at the painting. "The X-Men will love this." Another figure walked, or more appropriately, hopped into the room. He was a hunched-over teenager, with pale skin, yellow eyes, and neatly-combed dirty blond hair.

 _ **Toad. Real Name: Todd Tolensky. Birthplace: Unrevealed. Affiliation: Misfits, (Formerly) Brotherhood of Mutants. Physiology: Mutant Human. Powers and Abilities: Superhuman agility, reflexes, leaping ability, can cling to walls, and can spit slime and acid. Skilled hand-to-hand combatant, and trained in various ninja disciplines.**_

Unlike Paul, Toad was one of the original Misfits, the former Brotherhood of Mutants that were taken in by GI Joe.

"Whatcha got there, yo?" Todd asked.

"Oh, hey Todd." Paul put down his paintbrush and palette. "I heard you guys were going to introduce me and Craig to the X-Men, so I thought I'd make a gift for them." He smiled and pointed at his painting. "Whatcha think?" Todd looked over at it.

"Oh that's awesome, yo!" Todd grinned. "I dunno if they'll like it, but I think it's pretty cool."

"I can't see why they wouldn't. Everybody likes KISS." Paul blinked.

"Yeah, but I can't see them rockin' out to them, man."

"You'd be surprised." Paul shrugged. "Fans can come from any walk of life."

"Yeah, fair enough." Todd shrugged. "So, you excited to meet the X-Men?"

"Yeah." Paul nodded eagerly. "I've seen them on TV, but I never thought I'd get to meet them in person. Kind of neat, huh?"

"Yeah, if you say so." Todd shrugged. "I came by to tell you something."

"Tell me what?"

"Well..." Todd clicked his tongue. "The X-Men ain't that awesome, yo."

Paul blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah, they're a bunch of jerks." Todd scowled. "They like to act like they're the greatest thing to ever happen since sliced bread."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Todd said. "Let me tell you somethin', Paul. We Misfits and X-Men go _waaay_ back."

"Yeah, I was told about that by some of the Joes." Paul answered. "Some of you fought as the Brotherhood of Mutants."

"Yup." Todd nodded. "We did. A lot of us have our own issues with the X-Men in our own way."

"Old grudges, huh?" Paul nodded. "You and Craig should talk. He's got some of his own. They can be hard to let go of."

Todd scrunched his face. "Yeah, but this is way different. You see, the X-Men like to act like they are the greatest thing since sliced bread."

"I see..."

"Yeah. They're jerks." Todd grumbled. "Especially Fuzzy. I _hate_ Fuzzy."

Paul blinked. "Which one's 'Fuzzy' again?"

"Kurt Wagner. Nightcrawler." Todd explained.

"Oh, the German one. With the blue fur and teleporting powers." Paul nodded.

"He thinks he's so great."

"Isn't a nightcrawler a kind of worm?" Paul blinked. "I wonder if hes aware of that." The young mutant scratched his chin. "Although, he probably picked it because it does sound like a cool superhero name."

"He gets to live in a fancy mansion, with his pretty friends..." Todd grumbled. "They act like they're so great...They tried to kill me with their Danger Room, you know?" **(1)**

"Didn't you try to wreck Nightcrawler's date?" Paul recalled. "I remember Fred telling me about that..." **(2)**

"Yeah, I remember." Todd smiled. "Heh heh, I tried so hard to win Wanda over. I don't know _what_ I was thinking."

"As my brother would like to say, 'Life likes to find ways to mess with you'." Paul said.

"Yeah, it certainly felt like that." Todd nodded.

"You guys don't talk much about your lives before the Misfits." Paul remarked. "I know you guys were members of the Brotherhood of Mutants. That I got from the Joes. But before that, I don't know much."

"To learn that stuff, you'd have to talk to Psyche-Out." Todd shook his head. "And he'll never say anything without our okay. But let's just say your brother's saying about life always finding ways to mess with us...oh yeah, it loved messing with us."

"Had it rough, huh?"

"Yup." Todd nodded. "I mean, look at me, yo. I'm not exactly going to be on the cover of GQ anytime soon. People Magazine ain't gonna declare me Sexiest Man Alive."

"I think Althea would disagree with you on that." Paul chuckled.

Todd laughed. "Yeah, she would. I love her. But look at me. And look at the X-Men. Many of them could pass for normal humans. I can't, yo. All my life, man. All my life, people have looked at me with disgust."

"That's a shame."

"It hurts, ya know?" Todd leaned on a wall. "I ain't gonna pretend I was a perfect angel, yo. I did some bad stuff. But you know, I do have feelings, man. And it sucks when people constantly make fun of you for things you can't control, you know?"

"I hear you." Paul nodded. "When I was a little kid, my parents would always tell me to put on makeup to hide this star on my face." He pointed to the purple star-shaped birthmark around his eye. "They would say there would be people who would make fun of me for this."

"Glad your parents kept it real for ya."

"Yeah." Paul nodded. "They knew there would be people who would judge me based on this, and they told me that. They held no illusions that I was different. But they still loved me."

"Lucky you." Todd grunted. "I wish my parents were like that, yo."

"I take it that they weren't too fond of you?"

Todd shook his head. "Pretty much. I've talked to Psyche-Out about it."

"Want to tell me? You don't have to if you don't want to. I don't want you to think I'm prying of trying to pressure you..."

"Naw, I don't mind so much, now." Todd reassured. "Did you know I grew up in the Big Apple?"

"You're a New Yorker?"

"Yup." Todd nodded. "Where'd you think my accent was from, yo? Brooklyn boy through-and-through right here."

"That's awesome." Paul grinned. "I can imagine New York must've been a real adventure in itself."

"It was, in its own way." Todd shrugged. "Especially with my childhood."

"Really?"

"Yup." Todd nodded. "Ya see, I didn't quite get to grow up with anything resembling a...normal family. I grew up in a group home. With a bunch of other 'problem' kids."

"Oh, geez..." Paul winced.

"I'm a bit learning disabled, too." Todd continued. "Not to mention, I always looked like this." Todd pointed at his face. "The other kids...well, they can be cruel. And on top of that, I was shuttled to a bunch of foster homes. But I never lasted long in any of them. And well...they could be rough, too. I never really fit in. And they never really wanted me around."

"God, I'm sorry, man. I wish I didn't ask now."

"It's alright." Todd nodded. "You wanted to know why I hated the X-Men? Here is why. All my life, yo. People looked at me and saw a freak. But you look at most of the X-Men, man. Hell, all Summers has to do is put on his fancy glasses, and nobody would know he's a mutant at first glance. Most of them look just like regular people. But not me." He shook his head. "Fuzzy had that fancy hologram watch to hide his fur. Never got to have that." His lips tightened. "Hell, you ever see Nightcrawler up close?"

"Just on TV."

"Look at his face." Todd grunted. "He may have funny hands, funny feet, pointed ears, fangs, and fur...but he still got to have a handsome face." He pointed at his own. "I didn't. I always looked like this, and I always will."

"I wish I knew what to say." Paul said.

"You know, it took me a long time to be able to look at my reflection?" Todd admitted. "There are some times where I can't stand the sight of my own face."

"I'm sure that Althea would disagree with you about your appearance." Paul chuckled. "She clearly sees you as quite handsome."

"Yeah." Todd shrugged, a smile briefly appearing on his face. "She does. I am lucky to have her in my life."

"She is very sweet."

"She is." Todd smiled. The smile then faded. "I mean, look at her, man. You seen her, right? She's sweet, smart, and gorgeous. And she wants to be with me. A Toad. A Princess who loves a Toad." He sighed. "You know, she actually said I was cute when we first met? Me. Cute." He shook his head with a smile. "First girl to ever say I was cute. Sometimes, I do wonder if...I deserve someone like her in my life."

"I don't see why you don't, man." Paul shrugged. "You said it yourself. Fate wasn't the kindest to you, and you said you were no angel, but you had a real shot at turning your life around, and you took it. I think you do deserve some good things in your life."

"Yeah." Todd nodded. "And it drives me nuts. Thing is, I do love Al. She's awesome. And I do like the other guys...even Wanda and Pietro, heh heh. Fred is my best friend on this team, you know? He's like a brother to me. He kinda gets it, you know what I mean? We both had to deal with being obviously different. I think that's why we bonded. I have all these people around me that I do care about." He sighed. "But..there are times. There are times when I do wonder if I am worthy of having them around."

"Wow..." Paul blinked. "You ever talked to Psyche-Out about any of this?"

Todd nodded. "Uh huh."

"Well, that's good. That's what he's there for."

"Yeah." Todd nodded. "It's not easy living with that gnawing at the back of my head."

"Does Althea know?"

Todd shook his head. "Naw, she doesn't. I...I don't want her to think that I have a problem with us being together." He sighed. "Althea is my first real girlfriend, you see. I really do love her, and I don't want my issues to mess that up. You know, before I met Al, I had a thing for Wanda...but my spine can attest to how that went."

Paul thought about it, and then winced. "Ouch. With her powers, I'm surprised you're still in one piece."

"Believe me, I'm grateful for that every day." Todd chuckled. "I'm sorry to burden you with this, man."

"It's okay." Paul smiled. "It's good to get that stuff off your chest."

"It did feel good to tell Psyche-Out that stuff." Todd nodded in agreement.

"...I hope you don't think badly of me because of my appearance." Paul said, slight worry in his voice.

"Ah, don't worry about it, you're cool." Todd waved it off. "Despite you having a face that makes girls drool." Paul couldn't help but laugh.

"Ha ha, I'm sorry, man!" Paul wiped some tears from his eyes. "You sounded just like Roadblock there!"

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" Todd chuckled.

"You know, sons do tend to take after their fathers..." Paul chuckled. He then smiled at his painting. "Just gotta let this paint dry, and I can give it to the X-Men tomorrow. I hope they like it."

"I hope so, too. You clearly worked hard on it." Todd nodded. "Hey, listen. I would like it if you, uh...kept what we talked about on the down low."

"If you want to, okay." Paul nodded understandingly. "But I do hope you at the very least talk to Psyche-Out about your issues, man. That's what he's there for."

"Don't worry, I do." Todd smiled reassuringly. He then heard a rumble. "Ah man, my stomach's rumbling."

"I'm feeling a bit peckish myself." Paul put down his paintbrush and palette. "Let's hit the mess hall. I'm in the mood for a hamburger sub."

"I don't think I could handle a whole one of those." Todd shook his head as the two boys left the room.

"Six-inch is good enough for me, too." Paul shrugged. "Cheese, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, pickles on wheat, that's good stuff."

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_

 **(1)** – **In "Strategy X"**

 **(2) - In "The Toad, The Witch, and the Wardrobe"**


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